Zisser Samuil (1921)

Zisser (Sisser) Samuil (1921, Riga) — violinist.

From 1935 Samuil Zisser studied at the Latvian Conservatory (class of Prof. A. Metz). In 1941, together with his parents, was deported to Siberia, to a labor camp, where he performed in amateur music groups. Later studied at the Faculty of Mathematics of Tomsk Pedagogical Institute. Worked in the orchestra of the Tomsk Drama Theater and in the symphony orchestra.

In 1956 he moved to Novosibirsk, where he became second concertmaster of the newly established Symphony Orchestra. In the early 1960s turned to conducting, later becoming chief conductor of the Novosibirsk Musical Comedy Theater orchestra (until 1970). At the end of the 1960s, while continuing to work, studied symphonic conducting at the Novosibirsk Conservatory (class of N. Faktorovich). From 1970 taught at the Conservatory, Department of Music Theory (senior lecturer). Also prepared arrangements for a string quartet and appeared with the ensemble as a musicologist-lecturer in schools in Novosibirsk and Kemerovo.

Samuil Zisser prepared a dissertation on orchestration under the supervision of I. Finkelshtein (Leningrad Conservatory), but did not receive a degree, as in 1973 he emigrated to Israel. There he worked as a music lecturer in schools, conductor-repetiteur with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, librarian, and music copyist.